Dinner Date
by Doc House
Summary: CJ asks Toby for a really big favour. CJChild. CJToby. Written prior to season three.
1. Dinner Date 1

"Dinner Date"

Written by Melissa (Doc)

**Updated June 2005: This was written back near the end of Season Two, which explains the different father CJ has in this story. **

Part 1

"Hi Toby," CJ walked into his office, shutting the door behind her. She walked up to the front of his desk and looked down at him. Toby didn't even acknowledge her at first.

"What?" Toby asked as he continued working.

"Have I ever told you how sexy you are when you're working?" CJ smiled. Toby still didn't look up. She must have tried this method once before, she thought.

"What is it you want?" Toby asked when he recognized her tone. The tone that conveyed her need for a favour.

"Why do you think I want anything?" CJ answered back. Was she really that obvious? "I just remembered never telling you that before," She smiled again. Toby finally looked up at her, taking his reading glasses off and placing them on his desk.

"CJ?" Toby asked after a minute of silence.

"Yes?" She smiled flirtatiously.

"What is it you want?" He ignored her advances.

"Well, now that you mention it, I was wondering if you had plans for dinner tonight?" CJ asked in a hushed voice.

"Why?" Toby questioned as he leaned back into his chair, a small grin tugging on the corner of his mouth. This is going to be good, he thought.

"Well, we've known each other for what, 20 years now? I thought it was time we had dinner together." God, this wasn't how she prepared to ask him when she was practicing in her office ten minutes ago.

"CJ," Toby smiled at her rare nervousness. "We always have dinner together." He reminded her.

"Yeah, well, I thought if someone were to maybe join us…" She mumbled quietly.

"Like who?" Toby asked as he sat up in his chair. He had a bad feeling now.

"My dad." CJ answered, yet was wiping her mouth with her hand at the same time.

"I'm sorry. I didn't hear you."

"My dad." CJ spoke loud and clear. Just get it over with, Claudia.

"Oh, your dad," Toby got up from his chair and walked from behind his desk to stand in front of CJ. "Well, why didn't you say so?" Toby walked even closer. "No." Toby answered, smiled, and sat down on his couch.

"Oh, come on Toby, I don't ask for much." CJ kneeled down in front of Toby. "Please…"

"Why are you bugging me? Your father hates me. He always has. Why would you want to bring me?"

"He doesn't hate you Toby." She lied.

"CJ, the last time I saw him, he tried to run me over with his car," Toby reminded her. "I don't feel like being run over tonight, sorry," Toby got up and went to the door. Before opening it, he was stopped by a furious CJ who pushed against the door so he couldn't get out. "You know, this could be considered kidnaping."He said bluntly.

"Toby, if you don't do this one thing for me, I will never forgive you," CJ threatened.

"I think I could live with that," Toby smiled. He knew she would never stay mad at him. His thoughts faded when CJ slammed him against his office door.

"CJ…" He choked out her name as her arm dug into his throat.

"Look, for the last 20 years, I have put up with you. Sometimes you're a good guy, most of the time, you're an ass. But I don't hold that against you." She explained, her voice gaining volume as she continued.

"CJ…"

"I screwed up. Okay, I screwed up. I told my father something that maybe I shouldn't have." She mentioned.

"Like what?" Toby asked after CJ moved her arm and allowed him to breathe again. Her hand still clenched his shirt so he wouldn't move.

"Well, remember when I got pregnant?"

"CJ, what the hell…" Toby eyed her now with suspicion. She wouldn't have told her father that he...

"I told him that you were the father. And then two years ago, I said we got married." CJ grabbed more of his shirt with frustration. More frustrated with herself then with Toby.

"Okay, okay. Let me go," Toby found it hard to breathe again.

"Oh, sorry." CJ smiled weakly and released her hold on him

"CJ, why did you tell him that? You know he hates me." He was practically shouting now.

"Because when I told him I was pregnant, he demanded to know who the father was. The first person that popped in my head was you. Then he got mad that we weren't married, so I told him that we were waiting. He brought it up again two years ago, and I said we got married in a small ceremony a few weeks' prior." She explained in a regretful voice. "I'm so sorry."

"CJ, you got pregnant 10 years ago. What the hell has he been thinking for ten years?" He asked reluctantly. He really didn't want to know.

"That we have been living together. That you are taking care of me and Anna."

"Then why was it that five years ago, he tried to run me over?" He flinched at the memory.

"Because he thought you didn't want to marry me." She answered dumbly.

"CJ, this is sounding more and more like a soap opera," Toby hit his head back against the door.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you this ten years ago, but think about it. What was I supposed to tell my father? That I had a one night stand with some guy and found out later I was pregnant. Yeah, 'cause that would have gone over really well."

"CJ…" Toby rubbed his face in frustration.

"I didn't want him to hate me." She said in a small voice that gathered Toby's attention.

CJ moved to the couch and sat down. She looked up at Toby who was still in shock.

"Do you know how bad this may look CJ? The Press is all over DC. What if we go to dinner and someone in the press overhears your father calling me the father of your kid, what the hell are we going to do CJ? The Press never found out who the father of Anna was, if they think it's me, it could cause more problems then if you were to just tell your father the truth." He tried to explain rationally.

"The truth, you want me to tell him I got drunk, got knocked up, and had to rely on you to take care of me and Anna. Jesus Toby, he would kill me. You might win his friendship, because, after all, you were the one who has been there every day. You took care of Anna when I was working. You were the one who stopped working for a short time when Anna got sick. Who knows, maybe my father will learn to love you as he throws me out of his life," CJ said all in one breath.

"CJ…"

"One night Toby. I'm asking for one lousy night. Anna will be there, so we don't have to deal with my father going off on you. He will stay behaved for Anna."

"CJ…"

"Toby, Anna already calls you dad. She loves you more than she loves anyone. I'm just asking that you play along for one night. Just one." She pleaded.

"CJ…"

"Toby, please…"

"CJ, shut up! Look. I'll go. But the first time your dad starts bothering me…"

"Thank you." CJ ignored Toby's threat, and wrapped her arms around him for a hug. "I owe you." She finally took a breath.

"You owe me big." He corrected her.

TBC


	2. Dinner Date 2

Part 2

"Mom, where's dad?" Anna asked while looking out the window.

"He's coming," CJ finished getting dressed. "He better be coming." She mumbled as an afterthought.

CJ walked into the living room and saw Anna looking out the window. She smiled as she watched her daughter. Anna loved Toby so much. He had been there when she was born and has been there for everything since. Anna truly believed that Toby was her dad. She knew that Toby wasn't her blood dad. But he was her real dad by heart.

"I see him," Anna jumped up and ran to the door.

"It's about time," CJ said to herself. She heard the door swing open.

"Dad!" Anna ran up to Toby.

"There she is," Toby picked Anna up and swung her around. "How's my princess doing tonight?" He asked while kissing her on the cheek.

"Great, now that you're here." She blushed.

"I have that affect on many people," Toby laughed.

"I have something for you, I'll go get it," Anna kissed Toby quickly before he put her back down, and ran up the stairs to her room. Toby looked up and saw CJ standing there watching him.

"I said six," She mentioned as he walked all the way into the house.

"You're lucky I came at all," Toby playfully pushed CJ out of his way as he walked into the living room.

"We should leave here pretty soon, he's meeting us there." CJ mentioned.

"Have you told Anna?"

"Yeah, she's happy that she gets to pretend we're married."

"I figured that," Toby smiled and sat down. "Where is he staying?"

"He's not. His plane leaves at 10 tonight."

"He's here for one day?" Toby asked, confused.

"Well, he has kinda been here for a week," CJ said quietly, but still loud enough for Toby to hear her.

"What? CJ, he's been here and he hasn't seen me?" He knew he should have stayed home tonight.

"You were in California all week, and he knew that. That's why he's staying here late tonight. He wanted to see you." She tried to put a positive spin on the issue.

"Why? So he can kill me?" Toby said to himself. He rubbed his forefinger against his temple.

"Look…" CJ started, but stopped as Anna ran back in with a paper flapping in her hand.

"I drew you this," Anna jumped up on Toby's lap and handed him the drawing.

"Wow, this is beautiful," Toby took his time to really study it. It was a picture of Anna, CJ, and Toby during the Summer when they went up to New York. "Thank you sweetheart." He kissed her forehead and winked at her. "I love it."

"It's a picture of our vacation. I thought you might like it." Anna smiled proudly. "Remember how much fun we had? We went to the Yankee game and mom scared this guy into giving us the foul ball he caught." She giggled at the memory.

"Are you kidding? I love it. I'm going to hang it up in my office first thing in the morning," Toby smiled and kissed Anna again on the forehead. "Thank you." He looked back down at the picture. He had her up on his shoulders booing a bad call that was made against the Yankees, while CJ stood in the background scaring some poor sap into giving her the foul ball he just caught.

CJ couldn't help but smile. Anna and Toby were inseparable. She loved watching them interact. Anna brought out the good in Toby, something CJ never thought anyone could do.

"Okay, we need to get going," CJ slapped her hands together and took a deep breath.

"Okay, let's get our game faces on," Toby joked as he stood. CJ gave him a glare while Anna laughed.

"Lets go, oh mighty one," CJ said sarcastically as she took his offered arm.

All three of them sat in the car for a little while once they arrived in front of the restaurant. CJ was praying everything went well. Toby prayed Mr. Cregg hadn't rented a vehicle during his visit. And Anna sat in the back, her big eyes darting back and forth from her mom to her dad. She was so excited to play pretend tonight. Maybe her mom and dad would have fun too.

"I don't think I can do this. The man hates me." Toby mentioned while loosening his neck tie.

"He doesn't hate you Toby. This whole past week, all he has been doing is praising you. I'm even starting to get sick of it," CJ smiled, trying to help ease the pressure off of him.

"You'll do fine dad," Anna said while jumping forward and fixing his tie for him. "There, now he can't resist you." She smiled, grabbed his face with both hands, and gave him a big kiss on his cheek. She heard her mom laughing as she opened the car door.

"Thanks," Toby kissed her back and helped her out of the car. Anna kept a tight grip on Toby's hand as they walked. CJ went over to Toby's other side and grabbed his hand. She gave it a reassuring squeeze. He smiled at her.

"Thank you for doing this Toby." She said honestly. She's lost count of how many times she's said that to him since Anna's birth. He was picking up the pieces for her.

"You're welcome," Toby smiled as they all walked in.

TBC


	3. Dinner Date 3

Part 3

"Claudia," Jack Cregg jumped up from the table and hugged his daughter. "How are you my dear?"

"Good," CJ smiled back.

"Anna," Jack bent down and kissed his granddaughter on the cheek. "You look so beautiful."

"Thank you." Anna blushed.

Then Jack looked at Toby. CJ and Anna were still holding his hands to keep him calm. They could tell he was nervous.

"Toby, it's good to see you son," Jack said while putting his hand out. Toby let go of CJ's hand and shook the offered hand with a smile.

"I'm sorry I couldn't have been here before now." Toby apologized, thinking it could earn him a few points in his favor.

"I understand. Claudia said you had to go on a trip." Jack nodded, keeping his eyes on Toby.

"Yes sir." Toby felt the urge to bolt until he felt Anna squeezing his hand as hard as she could. He looked down and winked at her.

"Well, let's order, shall we?" Jack sat back down. CJ and Anna sat next to him as Toby sat directly in front of him. "So, Claudia said you were a little nervous about seeing me." Jack smiled. "Did you think I would run you over with my car?"

"That thought did go through my mind sir." Toby responded honestly. "You didn't rent a car, did you?" He asked seriously. His leg began to nervously move up and down. He felt CJ's hand rest on his thigh. His leg stopped moving, but now his face was flushed.

Jack laughed a little. Then the waitress came over and took everyone's order.

"So, how was the trip?" Jack asked, curious about why Toby had a flushed face. He eyed CJ, who just smiled.

"Good, we made some progress." Toby managed to choke out. He patted CJ's hand, thanking her for the support. He hoped she would remove it. She didn't. Her hand moved further up.

"That's good. I bet you hated being away from your family." He tilted his head over toward CJ and then Anna.

"Yes, but I called every night." Toby had to manually remove her hand. He couldn't talk to her father and have her groping him at the same time. He looked at her with a puzzled expression before turning his attention back to Jack.

"That's good," Jack nodded in appreciation. "You know Toby. I never really liked you." He said without remorse.

Toby nearly choked on the water he was drinking. "Sir?"

"Well, you just weren't the guy I had wanted Claudia to be with. I wanted someone who would risk his life for her. A guy that would walk through fire for her. I just didn't see you as that man." He explained, waiting for Toby to prove him wrong.

"Dad," CJ glared at him. "Knock it off."

"No, I need to say this," Jack looked at Toby sternly. "I'm very proud of the way you have handled this. You took care of my daughter when she was pregnant. And now, you take care of my granddaughter. They seem to love you very much. I just wanted to thank you for that. You are a good man." He stated.

"Thank you sir." Toby managed a smile.

"Now, you're going to continue to take care of them, right?"

"Yes sir, for the rest of my life, I promise." Toby swore without hesitation.

"That's my boy." Jack smiled and turned his attention to Anna.

The rest of the dinner went great. Toby and Jack had finally had a civil talk. CJ was thankful that Toby had done this. He was her lifesaver, and he always has been. CJ would never tell him how much she wished Anna was his.

At the airport, Jack said goodbye to everyone. He thanked Toby once again and shook his hand before departing.

"I'll call when I get in." Jack assured CJ.

"I love you dad."

"I love you too."

They watched as Jack boarded the plane. Toby was holding Anna, who had fallen asleep in the car on the ride there. Her head rested on his shoulder as her arms hugged him around the neck. She woke up once while Jack checked his bags, and whispered what a great job he did in his ear. CJ watched from the sidelines as Toby took a long look at Anna after she fell back to sleep. She was just like her mother.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" CJ patted his back as they exited the airport.

"I must say. It went over pretty well." He agreed.

"See. I told you." CJ smiled.

"We better get her home." Toby rubbed Anna's back gently.

"Where are we?" Anna asked when Toby carried her into a room, still half asleep.

"You're home in your bed." Toby answered as he slowly lowered her down on the bed. He grabbed the covers and tucked her in. It had been a while since he was able to do this with her.

"Are you staying here tonight?" Anna asked, sounding wide-awake now.

"I have to get home and get some work done. I'll come over tomorrow and take you to school if you want." He offered with a smile.

"Yes, please." Anna nodded excitedly.

"I love your smile. You know that?" Toby whispered, then kissed Anna goodnight. Anna noticed her mom watching them, and noticed her mom moving her hand to cover her mouth at Toby's last words. Anna grinned up at him.

"Yeah, that's why I smile all the time," Anna declared.

"Goodnight sweet girl." Toby rubbed her stomach softly.

"Goodnight dad." Anna smiled before closing her eyes.

Toby stood up and watched as Anna fell back to sleep.

"Is she asleep?" CJ asked as Toby came out of the bedroom, automatically going downstairs into the living room. CJ flopped down on the couch when they entered.

"Yeah," Toby looked down at CJ sitting on the couch. He wanted to bring up the groping at dinner, but saw that she was tired. "I should get going. I told Anna I would take her to school tomorrow. Is that okay?"

"Of course," CJ smiled and got up to face him. "Thank you for doing this Toby, it meant more to me then you will ever know," She said while walking him to the door. She suddenly felt sad that he was leaving. She felt this every night right before he would leave to go home.

"I'm always here for you CJ, and Anna," Toby reassured her and started to open the door. But then CJ leaned against it so he couldn't get it open.

"Really?" CJ asked shyly.

"Yeah, why? You want me to see your brothers now?" Toby hoped not. He met them once, and that was enough. He waited for CJ to moved away from the door, but she didn't.

"Stay with me," CJ whispered. She could see Toby looking into her eyes, and she could tell he was trying to get inside his head. If he did that, he'd leave. She couldn't handle rejection right now.

"CJ, you don't want to do something you're going to regret in the morning," Toby whispered back. He wanted nothing else but to stay with her tonight. But he couldn't handle her taking it back when they woke up.

"Toby, I can honestly swear right here and now that if you stay, I will never, ever regret it." She promised him.

Toby couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was beautiful. And he loved her.

"Toby," CJ spoke quietly as she kissed him gently on the lips. "Stay with me." She pleaded against his lips.

"Okay," Toby whispered back without hesitation. He grabbed CJ's hands and held them in his own. "Can I tell you something?" Toby asked as CJ started to pull him toward the bedroom.

"Anything." She looked at him seductively.

"I love you." Toby declared. CJ stopped pulling him and looked into his eyes. The smile that spread across her face was lopsided as she tried to control the emotions her body was dealing with.

"I love you too Toby. I always have." She responded before they entered her bedroom. His face lit up with a boyish grin as he wrapped his arms around her. "It was the groping that did it, right?" CJ whispered into his ear and smiled as he chuckled at her.

CJ pulled Toby into the bedroom and shut the door

Anna stood on top of the stairs with a huge grin on her face.

"It's about time mom and dad." She said as she walked back to her room and went to sleep knowing both her parents would be there for her in the morning.

The End


End file.
